Paradip Port, Major port in Jagatsinghpur district, India

Paradip Port sits where the Mahanadi River meets the Bay of Bengal, functioning as a shipping hub with modern facilities and multiple berths. The infrastructure handles large vessels exceeding 300 meters in length and processes diverse cargo types daily.

The port was founded in the 1960s and began operations shortly after, becoming crucial modern infrastructure for India's coast. This development transformed the region's economic structure.

Paradip is the only major port in Odisha, and the state's founding figure here is Biju Patnaik, then Chief Minister, credited as the port's founding father. The port authority is a board of trustees nominated by the Government of India from shippers, ship owners, government departments and port labour, so the working life of the harbour is bound up with these groups.

The port operates daily year-round, though monsoon season may bring challenging conditions. Visitors should check in advance whether tours are available, as this is an active industrial facility.

The harbour is artificial, a lagoon dredged from the seashore and shielded by two rubble-mound breakwaters: the north one 538 metres long, the south one 1,217 metres. The approach channel runs 2.2 kilometres out to sea, 18.7 metres deep and at least 190 metres wide, so ships drawing 15 metres pass without waiting on the tide.